In addition, we have below exclusive video snippets from our chat with Royal Ballet principals Edward Watson, Steven McRae and Sergei Polunin where they share their thoughts and expectations about Christopher Wheeldon’s exciting new work for the Royal Ballet:

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland starts with Alice’s mother hosting a tea party in her garden. One by one her guests arrive: Lewis Carroll, a magician, a Rajah, the Duchess. Each will later return as the absurd characters from Alice’s Wonderland. Steven McRae, who plays the “crazy” tapping Mad Hatter, tells us he’s “feeling excited and can’t wait to hear how the audience reacts.” He hopes the ballet gets “all the recognition it deserves”.

Edward Watson is getting ready for “lots of costume changes”. He’s Lewis Carroll to start with and as the garden party unfolds he gradually morphs into the time-obsessed White Rabbit. We are promised lots of “fast solos”.

Ryoichi Hirano is looking forward to wearing his “huge wig” as a rooster in the Caucus Race. “On stage tonight it’s going to be so good, with lots of laughs”. He thinks Joby Talbot’s music “is absolutely fantastic”.

17:50 - We look in vain for leading lady Lauren Cuthbertson (Alice) but on our way out we bump into her character’s love interest, the Knave of Hearts. For Sergei Polunin a new ballet is “a lot of pressure but it’s so special having a role created on you”; as for dancing with Lauren “it’s just absolute joy and a lot of fun”.

We started The Ballet Bag in April 2009 with the mission to prove that ballet is not stuffy, old fashioned and inaccessible; that it is quite the opposite: relevant, fresh and topical. With the aim to Give Ballet a New Spin we try to show it under a different light. When writing our capsule biographies, ballet fact cards, review roundups and commentary on social media, we cross it over with other art forms and cultural references (pop culture, cinema, rock music – ie. other things we love!).

[...] this blog: we dropped by the Royal Opera House’s costume department to take some pictures. With Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland set to return to the stage in 2 weeks* , costumes are back from Toronto (the ballet is a [...]

July 11, 2011

lindsay

I heard its being released in the uk on dvd sometime in september… do you know if that includes the states??

[...] is perfectly cast as Giselle or as Alice, the role she created earlier this year in Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But Lauren has a strong personality which also makes her ideal for edgy McGregor pieces or as the [...]

[...] 2012) – Wheeldon’s new story ballet returns next year. It is stylish, creative and full of visual impact. A [...]

March 8, 2011

Emilia

Sorry have not seen them anywhere, but there’s talk of the ballet being shown on TV at some point this year…

March 8, 2011

Chris

does anybody have any video footage of the 4 Boys who played the Hedgehogs at the world premier of Alice? thanks

March 7, 2011

Stephanie

Nice to have the video snippets, great coverage!

March 6, 2011

José Mauricio Ferraz

Lovely ballet and twitterland! Congratulations to ROH and bagladies

About

The Ballet Bag has been giving a fresh spin on ballet since 2009, breaking down the myth that classical dance is for traditionalists, and covering it under a younger light. We aim to be one of the most stylish dance webzines on the blogosphere, to feature dancers, companies, performances, and dance media crossed over with other art forms and cultural references: pop culture, cinema, rock music, etc. In short, here's where dance meets remix culture.